Women in Business: The Situation in 2018

March 8th was International Women’s Day, but how have women truly progressed in business?

A Grant Thornton International study, Women in business: beyond policy to progress reports that while the number of businesses with at least one woman on their senior leadership team has significantly increased, the proportion of senior roles held by women has marginally declined. As a result, businesses are missing out on the benefits of true diversity—critical at a time when every sector is facing disruption.

Emilio B. Imbriglio, President and CEO stated: “The participation of women and their talent in business is critical and should be an integral part of corporate culture. By working together and on an equal footing, not only will women and men collaborate better, they will also unlock their full potential for individual and collective growth. Society as a whole will come out a winner.”

Enhancing and promoting the role of women

The Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton Women of Talent committee was created in 2012 for the purpose of enhancing the standing of the women in our organization and promoting their roles and responsibilities. We invite you to read seven inspiring portraits of Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton women, that was published on March 8th in connection with International Women’s Day.

Guy Fauteux stated: “This recognition is the result of work I’ve always been passionate about. Since the very start of my career, I’ve always been motivated by the success of my clients and colleagues. Being an accountant means being engaged in our communities and showcasing the profession through our involvement. I plan on being a proud ambassador of the profession for many years to come.”

Gilles Henley said: “I’m very pleased to receive this distinction, but I won’t stop here. Passing on my knowledge and advising colleagues are what I thrive on. I will continue to tactfully and diligently share my expertise with the practitioners I support. I’m also very proud of my involvement to advance our profession. Over the years, in my work with CPA Canada and the Ordre des CPA, I have had the opportunity to work on major issues with a wide variety of colleagues. It’s very rewarding.”

Emilio B. Imbriglio, President and CEO of Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton, added: “I extend my warmest congratulations to Guy and Gilles on receiving this well-deserved honour. They have made a remarkable contribution to the profession and the firm. We are privileged to have such high calibre colleagues to advise our clients and professionals. Thank you for promoting our profession and contributing your outstanding talent to our mutual success.”

Passion, commitment and integrity

The title of Fellow of the Order, designated by the initials FCPA, formally recognizes those members who have rendered outstanding service to the profession, or whose achievements in their careers or in the community have earned them distinction and brought honour to the profession.

Our colleagues will be officially honoured at the Soirée des Fellows which is usually held in May. For more information on the Ordre des comptables professionnels agréés du Québec and the accounting profession, go to www.cpaquebec.ca.

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Women of Talent: Women Employees Honoured

International Women’s Day is more than just a theme day, it’s an opportunity to recognize the invaluable contribution women make within RCGT and in society in general.

Today, March 8th, we want to acknowledge the exceptional role of all the women who work in our firm. Their talent, commitment and discipline contribute to our firm’s growth and success; and make Raymond Chabot Grand Thornton shine throughout the network, in Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick!

Women of Talent: Seven Inspiring Portraits

The Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton Women of Talent committee was created in 2012 for the purpose of enhancing the standing of the women in our organization and promoting their roles and responsibilities by supporting strategic actions that foster business development through the creation of stable business relationships.

To showcase the depth and diversity of our women employees, the Women of Talent committee asked seven women in various offices to share how they embody our CLEARR values every day, in their professional and personal lives: collaboration, leadership, excellence, agility, respect, responsibility.

Christiane Caisse

Senior Manager – Management Consulting
Sherbrooke office

“Client satisfaction is my greatest source of motivation. I’m very proud when I realize that a client considers our fees an investment rather than an expense.”

From a young age, Christiane learned the value of work. She was just 9 years old and she was already helping out in her father’s little butcher shop in Grand-Mère, Mauricie.

“I would stock cans on the shelves, then, over the years, I had more responsibility. I especially liked serving clients, which forced me to overcome my shyness. At 16, I worked weekends in a pharmacy to pay for my school supplies and clothes. I did well at school because I put in the time and work needed. It’s in my DNA to work hard; I’ve never doubted it.”

With her diploma of vocational studies in hand, Christiane worked some ten years in the banking sector, then as a representative for a multinational. In her thirties, she decided to leave the work force to complete a Bachelor of Accounting at the Université de Sherbrooke which she then followed up with a Master’s. “I worked hard. On November 25, 1999, when I learned that I had passed the UFE, it was the happiest day of my life,” she said.

When she thinks back about her life, she becomes a little somber and emotional. “There were challenges early on in my journey and I had little support in facing them. When I was 19, my father took his own life and it’s only recently that I’ve made peace with that painful chapter. I had to rely on myself to find the strength to push my limits and find my own way in life.”

Christiane continues, “I think that my humble beginnings and the challenges I had to overcome to get where I wanted to have reinforced my openness to others. I’m always very touched when someone says that I inspired them to do something they wanted when they thought they couldn’t.”

This Senior Manager makes it a point to encourage and share her knowledge with her team members. She laughs, “But sometimes, it backfires. Two years ago, one of the juniors I was training told me he was leaving to work in France. He said it was because I had taught him to trust in himself that he had overcome his fear of the unknown.”

Passion, a driving force to the top

Christiane has been working for Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton since 2010. Her interest in being in contact with clients, which she discovered in her youth, has not waned. “This is what drives me every day. Client satisfaction is my greatest source of motivation. I’m very proud when I realize that a client considers our fees an investment rather than an expense.”

She especially likes the variety of the assignments in management consulting. “I like saying that my speciality is diversity! It’s an asset in consulting, to be able to help our clients from a wide range of fields and backgrounds. But I don’t think that I’m a know-it-all: if there’s something I don’t know in a file, I do what’s necessary to get it. Regardless of its scope, I carry out every assignment as if it were my own business.”

She says that she applies the same intensity in everything that she does. “Whether it’s professional activities or volunteering, or even cooking or planning a trip: everything I do, I do with passion!”

In 2015, she took part in a trip organized by one of her colleagues: climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, which raised funds for special projects for youths in Lac-Mégantic. “Our 14-person group raised $42,000. I had prepared myself intensely. In 6 months, I had walked 450 km. The training had been harder than planned because a sprained ankle forced me to stop training for two weeks, but I felt that the adventure was worth it. It pushed me to go beyond my limits on many levels.”

Does this energetic woman have other dreams in mind? Christiane says, “I would love to write a book. Not necessarily to have it published, but for myself, to relive momentous chapters of my life.”